Elara's POV
"You're lying," Kael said flatly.
The Empress's ghost smiled. Not kindly. "I have no reason to lie. I'm already dead."
"Seven souls," I repeated, my consciousness reeling. "But I only felt two. You and me."
"Because the others are sleeping. Dormant. Waiting." The Empress drifted closer, her transparent form flickering in the torchlight. "Each soul trapped in Soulrend adds power. But seven souls together? That creates something unprecedented. Something that can reshape reality itself."
"That's what Seraphine wants," Orin said grimly. "Not just immortality. The power to remake the Empire however she wants."
"Worse." The Empress's expression darkened. "The power to unmake it. Seven betrayed souls hold enough rage to destroy everything. Every city. Every person. Everything."
Silence fell over the ruined armory.
Then Kael laughed. Bitter and broken. "Of course. Why would any of this be simple?"
"If you want simple, you chose the wrong legendary weapon," I muttered.
"I didn't choose you. You talked to me first."
"Because you were the first person in three hundred years who didn't die in those trials!"
"Maybe I should have died. Would've been easier."
"Oh, stop being dramatic—"
"ENOUGH!" The Empress's voice cracked like thunder. "You two bicker like children while the Empire burns. Focus."
We fell silent. Properly chastised by a three-hundred-year-old ghost.
"The other five souls," I said. "Who are they?"
"Warriors. Betrayed, murdered, bound to the blade before me." The Empress's form shimmered. "I was the seventh. The one who completed the original ritual. But something went wrong. Instead of granting power to my murderers, Soulrend became a prison for all of us."
"What went wrong?" Orin asked.
"I refused." Simple words. Enormous weight. "They thought a murdered empress would be grateful for the chance at revenge. Instead, I rejected their ritual. Turned the blade's power inward. Locked us all away rather than let them use us."
"You trapped yourself," Kael said slowly. "And six other souls. For three centuries."
"To save the Empire from what Soulrend could become in the wrong hands. Yes." The Empress looked at me. "Until you arrived. A soul from another world. A soul not bound by the original curse."
"I don't understand."
"You're the key, Elara Thornwood. The soul that doesn't belong. The one that can break the curse—or complete it."
Ice flooded through my consciousness. "How?"
"By choosing. The other souls are dormant, but not dead. If you wake them willingly, work with them, unite all seven? You could destroy Soulrend from within. Free everyone." She paused. "Or Seraphine could force you to wake them through Kael's death. Use that combined power to remake reality as she sees fit."
"Those are terrible options," I said.
"Welcome to being a legendary weapon."
Kael stepped forward. "If Elara destroys Soulrend from within, what happens to her?"
The Empress met his eyes. "She dies. Completely. No afterlife. No reincarnation. Just... gone."
"No." Kael's hand tightened on my hilt. "There has to be another way."
"There isn't."
"Then we don't free the souls. We keep them dormant forever."
"Impossible." Orin shook his head. "Seraphine knows how to wake them now. It's only a matter of time before she captures you and forces the issue."
"Then we kill Seraphine first."
"With what army?" The Empress laughed coldly. "Your brother controls the capital. Seraphine controls the military. The Resistance is scattered and infiltrated. You have an old weaponsmith, a talking sword, and rage. That's not enough."
"It's what we've got," I said firmly. "And I didn't survive three hundred years to give up now."
The Empress studied me. "You're brave. Foolish, but brave."
"I prefer 'determined.'"
"Determination without power is just noise."
"Then it's a good thing I have power." I felt the sleeping souls deep within the blade. Dormant. Waiting. Dangerous. "I can feel them now that I know they're there. Six warriors. Six betrayals. Six pools of rage and skill."
"Don't wake them," the Empress warned. "Not until you're ready to make your choice."
"What choice? Die to free them, or let Seraphine use them?"
"Or find a third option." She smiled slightly. "I managed to trap the curse for three hundred years. Perhaps you can do better."
"How?"
"I don't know. I'm dead. Figuring it out is your job now." Her form began fading. "But I can give you one gift before I return to sleep."
"What gift?"
"Truth." She pointed at Kael. "Your prince has less time than you think. Every time you lend him power, he loses a piece of himself. Five more times, maybe ten, and Kael Ashenblade will cease to exist. Only the wielder will remain—an empty shell carrying a sword."
Horror crashed through me. "You said minutes or hours! Not a countdown!"
"I lied. To make you use the power. To see if you'd sacrifice him for victory." The Empress's eyes were sad. "You would. You already did once today."
Kael looked at me. Through our bond, I felt his shock. His hurt. "Elara—"
"I didn't know! I swear I didn't know it was permanent!"
"But you knew there was a cost. And you convinced me to pay it anyway."
"Because you would have DIED! Seraphine would have killed you!"
"And instead I'm dying slowly. Being erased one use at a time." His voice was quiet. Broken. "How is that better?"
I had no answer.
Orin cleared his throat. "We're all tired. Injured. Making emotional decisions. Let's rest, regroup, and—"
The ground shook.
Not from magic. From something massive moving underground.
"What now?" Kael demanded.
Orin's face went pale. "Oh no."
"'Oh no' what?"
"The old armory wasn't built as an execution chamber. It was built as a prison." He was already backing toward the exit. "For something the First Empire couldn't kill. Only contain."
"And Seraphine's magic just—"
"Broke the seals. Yes." Orin grabbed Kael's arm. "RUN!"
The floor cracked. Stone split. Something massive pushed upward.
"What is that?" I screamed.
"The reason the First Empire fell!" Orin was dragging Kael toward the tunnel. "An ancient weapon that consumed its wielders! A blade that became a monster!"
A creature burst through the floor. Not human. Not animal. Something in between—made of metal and flesh and dark magic, all twisted together into a nightmare.
And it had a sword for a spine.
"Another soul-bound weapon," the Empress's fading voice whispered. "One that succeeded where Soulrend failed. It devoured all seven souls and became something new. Something hungry."
The creature's eyes—too many eyes—fixed on me.
On Soulrend.
"It wants to consume us," I realized. "Add our souls to its collection."
"RUN!" Orin shoved Kael into the tunnel.
We ran. The creature followed, its metal-flesh body scraping against stone, its hunger echoing through the darkness.
"How do we kill it?" Kael gasped.
"We don't!" Orin said. "The First Empire tried for fifty years! It can't be killed!"
"Then what do we—"
The tunnel collapsed behind us. Not from the creature. From Seraphine's magic.
We burst into an open chamber and found her waiting. Fresh guards. Fresh magic. Fresh smile.
"Hello again," she said pleasantly. "I see you met my pet. Isn't it wonderful? A successful soul-blade fusion. Everything Soulrend could have been."
Behind us, the creature crashed through the rubble.
"You're trapped," Seraphine continued. "Between me and a monster that will consume you both. So here's your choice, husband: Give me Soulrend now and die quickly. Or fight the creature and die screaming while it eats your soul."
The creature roared. Its hunger was overwhelming, ancient, unstoppable.
"Elara," Kael said quietly. "Ideas?"
I looked at the creature. At Seraphine. At Orin's desperate face.
And I made a terrible decision.
"Wake the souls," I said.
"What?"
"The six sleeping souls inside me. I'm going to wake them. All of them. Right now."
"That's suicide!" the Empress's voice screamed in my head. "You'll lose control! They'll consume you!"
"Or they'll give us enough power to survive." I felt Kael's terror through our bond. "Trust me."
"I don't—"
"TRUST ME!"
I reached deep into Soulrend. Found the six sleeping souls. Six warriors. Six betrayals. Six pools of rage that had been dormant for centuries.
And I woke them all.
Power exploded through the blade.
Six voices screamed in my head.
Six personalities fought for control.
Six different fighting styles, memories, hatreds flooded my consciousness.
I was Elara.
I was the Empress.
I was six warriors I'd never met.
I was everyone.
I was no one.
I was—
"ELARA!" Kael's voice cut through the chaos. "Stay with me! Don't let them take you!"
His hand on my hilt. Our bond. The one anchor in the storm.
I focused on him. On us. On the partnership we'd built.
And slowly—impossibly—I took control.
All seven souls. All seven powers. All seven fighting styles.
United under one consciousness.
Mine.
I spoke, and seven voices came out as one:
"Seraphine. You wanted a weapon of seven souls? You've got one. Let me show you what that really means."